mastodon

noun

mas·to·don ˈma-stə-ˌdän How to pronounce mastodon (audio)

-dən

: any of various extinct mammals (genus Mammut synonym Mastodon) of the elephant family existing from the Miocene through the Pleistocene that are distinguished from the related mammoths chiefly by molar teeth with cone-shaped cusps

: one that is unusually large

mastodonic

ˌma-stə-ˈdä-nik How to pronounce mastodon (audio)

adjective

mastodont

ˈma-stə-ˌdänt How to pronounce mastodon (audio)

adjective or noun

Synonyms

behemoth
blockbuster
colossus
dinosaur
dreadnought
elephant
giant
Goliath
jumbo
leviathan
mammoth
monster
titan
whale
whopper

See all Synonyms & Antonyms

Example Sentences

mom-and-pop stores just can't compete with these mastodons of retailing

Recent Examples on the Web The tooth is believed to be from a mastodon about 11,000 to 12,000 years old.

Layla Mcmurtrie, USA TODAY, 17 Aug. 2022 The find was unique because the mastodon was a juvenile, likely between 10 and 20 years old, per MLive.com.

Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Aug. 2022 The operator requested that additional personnel investigate what was under the dirt, and experts later concluded that the bones belonged to a mastodon.

Layla Mcmurtrie, Detroit Free Press, 13 Aug. 2022 The tooth is believed to be from a mastodon about 11,000 to 12,000 years old.

Layla Mcmurtrie, Detroit Free Press, 16 Aug. 2022 Though researchers have unearthed other mastodon skeletons in Michigan, those have mostly belonged to adults.

Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Aug. 2022 That shift in climate (and the introduction of humans as predators) ended the reign of the saber-tooth cat, the American camel, the mastodon and other species later unearthed in the La Brea Tar Pits, where Dunn is an assistant curator.

Corinne Purtillstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2022 The mastodon's fossil was first found on a farm in 1998 by Kent and Janne Buesching, who were mining for peat on their property.

Ashley Strickland, CNN, 13 June 2022 During the 2022 legislative session, Indiana lawmakers declared a state fossil: The mastodon.

The Indianapolis Star, 1 July 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin Mastodont-, Mastodon, genus name, Latinization of French mastodonte, vernacular name for the animal, from Greek mastós "breast, nipple" (probably from a pre-Greek substratal language) + French -odonte -odont; so named from the nipple-like cusps on the crowns of the molar teeth

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined at sense 1

单词	mastodon
释义	mastodon noun mas·to·don ˈma-stə-ˌdän -dən 1 : any of various extinct mammals (genus Mammut synonym Mastodon) of the elephant family existing from the Miocene through the Pleistocene that are distinguished from the related mammoths chiefly by molar teeth with cone-shaped cusps 2 : one that is unusually large mastodonic ˌma-stə-ˈdä-nik adjective mastodont ˈma-stə-ˌdänt adjective or noun Synonyms behemoth blockbuster colossus dinosaur dreadnought elephant giant Goliath jumbo leviathan mammoth monster titan whale whopper See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences mom-and-pop stores just can't compete with these mastodons of retailing Recent Examples on the Web The tooth is believed to be from a mastodon about 11,000 to 12,000 years old. Layla Mcmurtrie, USA TODAY, 17 Aug. 2022 The find was unique because the mastodon was a juvenile, likely between 10 and 20 years old, per MLive.com. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Aug. 2022 The operator requested that additional personnel investigate what was under the dirt, and experts later concluded that the bones belonged to a mastodon. Layla Mcmurtrie, Detroit Free Press, 13 Aug. 2022 The tooth is believed to be from a mastodon about 11,000 to 12,000 years old. Layla Mcmurtrie, Detroit Free Press, 16 Aug. 2022 Though researchers have unearthed other mastodon skeletons in Michigan, those have mostly belonged to adults. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Aug. 2022 That shift in climate (and the introduction of humans as predators) ended the reign of the saber-tooth cat, the American camel, the mastodon and other species later unearthed in the La Brea Tar Pits, where Dunn is an assistant curator. Corinne Purtillstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2022 The mastodon's fossil was first found on a farm in 1998 by Kent and Janne Buesching, who were mining for peat on their property. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 13 June 2022 During the 2022 legislative session, Indiana lawmakers declared a state fossil: The mastodon. The Indianapolis Star, 1 July 2022 See More Word History Etymology borrowed from New Latin Mastodont-, Mastodon, genus name, Latinization of French mastodonte, vernacular name for the animal, from Greek mastós "breast, nipple" (probably from a pre-Greek substratal language) + French -odonte -odont; so named from the nipple-like cusps on the crowns of the molar teeth First Known Use 1811, in the meaning defined at sense 1 mastodon noun as in whale something or someone that is unusually large and powerful mom-and-pop stores just can't compete with these mastodons of retailing Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance whale dinosaur giant mammoth elephant monster titan leviathan colossus behemoth hulk dreadnought jumbo blockbuster Goliath whopper giantess amazon heavyweight steamroller juggernaut bulk Antonyms & Near Antonyms dwarf shrimp pigmy pygmy midget diminutive runt mite peewee lightweight weakling wisp wimp half-pint whippersnapper twerp nonentity See More
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